Rep. Keith Ellison (D., Minn.), the deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee, received backlash on Friday when activists slammed the Democratic Party’s treatment of minorities during a panel at the annual progressive “Netroots Nation” conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Marcus Ferrell, who served as Bernie Sanders’ African American Outreach Director during the 2016 presidential campaign, criticized the Democratic Party’s lack of engagement with black voters.

“So far Democratic campaigns think that October is the time to reach out to black churches and all of a sudden magically every single African American is going to show up to the polls,” Ferrell said. “Basics doesn’t happen in the black community. We can’t even get consultants to do good polls in black areas.”

Ferrell went on to castigate Democratic politicians for not going into black communities and learning about the issues that are important to them and including their concerns on the party’s platform. He also said that the party is not effective in relating to black voters and helping them understand how issues like health care will affect them.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a congressional candidate in New York’s 14th district, was also critical of the Democratic Party for taking Hispanics and Latinos for granted.